April 2015

Tour of the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Corridor

[Cross-posted from damonseils.org.]

Today I took a tour of the Durham-Orange light rail transit (LRT) corridor, courtesy of Triangle Transit staff. We started at Triangle Transit headquarters in RTP, picked up a helpful if bulky set of maps and other materials, and made our way to the proposed western terminus of the LRT project in Chapel Hill. I used the event as opportunity to live-tweet the tour for local politics blog OrangePolitics (where this entry is cross-posted).

Below is an archive of my tweets from today's tour.

Do you have questions about the Durham-Orange LRT project? The next couple of public meetings will take place on June 4 (4:00-7:00 pm, Durham Station) and June 6 (2:00-5:00 pm, John Avery Boys & Girls Club). Attend a forum and/or find more information at ourtransitfuture.org.

This Week in Orange Politics: April 6-12

While the Hillsborough Town Board takes a break this week, its Carrboro counterpart will consider a request for a minor modification to a conditional use permit. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board will consider approving a budget request for the county commissioners, while the commissioners will talk agricultural support enterprises at one meeting and capital projects at another.

Both the Chapel Hill Town Council and county school board have meetings scheduled for this week, but no agendas have been released.

The county and town of Chapel Hill are also offering opportunities for discussion on affordable housing.

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CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL

CHTC accepting applications for vacated seat until April 22

The Chapel Hill Town Council decided last night to open the application process to fill the seat recently vacated. Applications are due April 22nd. 

The following information was sent out by the Town:

Applications Accepted for Vacant Council Seat

 

The Chapel Hill Town Council has established the process for filling the vacancy on the Council resulting from the resignation of former Council Member Matt Czajkowski. The Town Charter provides that this vacancy shall be filled by appointment for the remainder of Council Member Czajkowski’s term of office, until December 2015. Residents of Chapel Hill who are registered voters and otherwise qualified to hold office are invited to apply to fill this vacant seat on the Town Council.

This Week in Orange Politics: April 13-19

Three of Orange County’s elected bodies will be meeting tonight alone. The Chapel Hill Town Council will discuss a zoning atlas amendment and special use permit and receive reporters, while its Hillsborough counterpart will interview candidates for appointments and discuss the town’s noise ordinance. The county school board will consider its budget for the upcoming year.

Later in the week, the county commissioners will hold a joint meeting with the board of health and talk transit and septic systems at a work session.The Hillsborough Town Board will hold hearings on several special use permits.

Don’t forget to join us for our monthly editors meeting at Breadman’s on Saturday afternoon.
 

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  • There is no meeting this week. The next meeting is a work session on April 21.

CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL

This Week in Orange Politics: April 20-26

It’ll be another busy week for Orange County’s elected bodies this week. The Hillsborough Town Board and county commissioners will hold a joint meeting covering an array of subjects from transit to economic development, while the commissioners will talk solid waste and the potential 2016 bond referendum earlier in the week.

The Carrboro Alderfollks will review the progress of the town’s parking management plan, while the Chapel Hill Town Council will hear comments on proposed changes to the Ephesus-Fordham form-based code district.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board will consider its policy on weapons and work on revising the calendars for upcoming school years, while the Orange County School Board will have a meeting of its policy committee. Details on that have not been released.

Don’t forget to join us for our rescheduled editors meeting Thursday at the Looking Glass.

Here’s the whole rundown:

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After 4 Years, Worker Center Set to Open

About four years ago Orange County Justice United came together with El Centro Hispano, the Human Rights Center, the Town of Carrboro, and a number of other partners to create a task force that would work to develop more dignified working conditions for people loooking for work at the corner of Jones Ferry Road and Davie Road in Carrboro. After much work together, on Sunday April 26th we will celebrate the grand opening of the Center for Employment and Leadership (CEL) at El Centro Hispano at 201 W. Weaver Street in Carrboro.

The celebration will start at 3:00 pm at the corner of Jones Ferry Road and Davie Road with a march to the new Center. After the ribbon-cutting, entertainment and food will be provided.

The CEL will have two primary functions, (1) to serve as a safe place for local day laborers to gather and seek work, (2) to serve as a safe place for community members of Carrboro, Chapel Hill and the surrounding areas in Orange County to hire workers in the center, rather than the common gathering spot on Jones Ferry Road. 

Six Apply for Vacant Chapel Hill Town Council Seat

Wednesday marked the deadline for applying to be appointed to the Chapel Hill Town Council seat vacated by Matt Czajkowski when he resigned earlier this year.

A total of six folks applied. You can read their applications online, and find a short description of each candidate's background in a news release issued by the town. In a special meeting of the Council on Monday at 6 p.m., each candidate will have the opportunity to make brief remarks on why they're most qualified, and the following week, on Monday, May 4, the Council will decide whether or not to make an appointment.

A Year-End Wrap Up with The Real Silent Sam

This past Friday, April 24th, marked the last day of classes at UNC-Chapel Hill for 2014-2015, and while many students fulfilled the campus tradition of relaxing on the quad, others chose to reclaim and “occupy” the space as a hub for an open dialogue about the university’s racial tensions over the past year.

The event was organized by The Real Silent Sam, which is a coalition of student, faculty, and community activists working to contextualize the university’s physical landscape and institutional history.

Most notably, the coalition’s efforts to rename Saunders Hall in favor of Hurston Hall have caused a buzz of controversy throughout the community, making local, state, and national headlines.

Saunders Hall is named after William Saunders, a UNC trustee, confederate colonel in the Civil War and a chief organizer for the Ku Klux Klan.

Challenging Islamophobia at UNC Chapel Hill

POC Takeover of the Quad rally members
POC Takeover of the Quad rally members

When David Horotwitz was invited by UNC College Republicans to speak at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill just two months after the murders of three Muslim youth in Chapel Hill, it caused alarm among the Muslim community and their allies at UNC and the greater Triangle area. Mr. Horowtiz has been documented as a prominent Islamophobic speaker in the USA by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Center for American Progress. During his speech at UNC, Mr. Horotwitz characterized Arabs as racist, linked student organizations Muslim Students Association (MSA) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) to terrorism, and implied Palestinians should be attacked with nuclear weapons.

This Week in Orange Politics: April 27-May 3

Two big items are the agenda this week for Orange County’s governing bodies. Tonight, the Chapel Hill Town Council will meet to discuss potentially filling its vacant seat, and on Tuesday, the county commissioners will meet with both of the county’s school boards to discuss budgets for the upcoming fiscal year and a potential bond for capital needs in 2016.

Elsewhere across the county, the Carrboro Alderfolks will talk about rezoning the Triem Lot and the Chapel Hill Town Council will consider the potential 2016 bond and Obey Creek. The Hillsborough Town Board will will review applications for an affordable housing project, while the county school board will discuss its IT operations.

Here’s the whole rundown:

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